09/06/2010

Delhi's 55,000 auto-rickshaw drivers plan strike on Tuesday

Delhi's 55,000 auto-rickshaw drivers plan strike on Tuesday against the government directive for re-allotment of drivers' badges to them. M S Mansoori, general secretary of the Rashtriya Rajdhani Shetra Tin-Pahiya Chalak Union, Delhi complained that around 10 years ago, they were issued temporary driver badges after they had paid Rs 400 and attended two-day class. The government had promised to replace these with permanent ones. But now the government is again asking them to pay another Rs 600 and appear in a fresh test. And, isn’t it shameful? "Why should we keep on paying money again and again? Can't the process be carried out in a more planned manner? We can't afford to waste money like this," he added.

The auto-rickshaw drivers have also accused the government of making arbitrary laws which affect them without even consulting them. "The transport department makes laws in air-conditioned rooms and we have to abide those laws," added Mansoori.